Meanwhile, Adiron keeps rolling me down the hall. We zoom past a few of the red-skinned guards who look at us with curiosity, and I try to add them to my mental tally. It's hard, though—they all have the same faces. I don't know if these are the same guards as before or different ones. Clones, someone said. Right. Well, shit. How many clones are on this ship with us? My heart sinks, because the more people we run across, the worse our chances are.
A group of four smart, canny, prepared women can absolutely take down a handful of enemies. But fifteen? Twenty? I don't like those odds and my stomach tightens with distress.
Behind me, Adiron whistles as he guides my chair forward. At the far end of the hall, a door opens and reveals an elevator. He steers me onto it, and my anxiety just increases. I twist at my cuffs again, desperate. "If you think you can rape some answers out of me," I warn, "you are sorely mistaken."
"Rape you?" He sounds disgusted and more than a little shocked. "Why would you think that?"
"Because you're separating me from the others? Because you want answers?" I pause for a moment, then add, "Because I've seen the way you keep looking at me?"
He moves to the side of my chair and taps a command into the elevator. The doors close, and as they slowly shut, I see the dark-robed one coming down the hall with a kicking, writhing Ruth flung over his shoulder. A knot forms in my throat. Is this it? Is this the end? Are we being separated to be interrogated and executed? If an alien man doesn't want a human woman for sex, what the hell does he want, then?
I don't have the answers, and I don't like it.
The doors close, and then I'm alone with my captor. I close my eyes, trying to calm myself, and feel his weight press down on both arms of my chair. When I open my eyes, he's looming over me, his face inches from mine.
"I have been looking at you," Adiron confesses. "That's what you wanted, wasn't it? Distract us with your bodies in those outfits? Well, it worked. I'm plenty distracted." And he gives me another crooked, disarming grin. "But I'm also not an asshole. I'm not touching you unless you ask for it."
"Don't hold your breath," I retort.
"Oh, I won't." With another naughty grin, he straightens. "But you're right. We're separating you in the hopes that someone will crack and give us answers."
"No one will," I bluff. Except…will they? We're a tight group, but we have our flaws. Ruth has a temper. I'm overprotective of the others. Helen…well, Helen's a fully grown adult but she's also incredibly innocent. It'd be easy to trick her. I know Alice is solid. The others, I'm not so sure about, including myself.
Adiron just shrugs, looking unperturbed at my declaration. "If you don't break, at least I get to spend some time in your company." The elevator stops, a gentle lifting motion the indication we've reached our destination. The doors open, and Adiron wheels me down another hall and then stops.
"Where are we going?" I ask, unable to remain silent.
"I thought you might be hungry," my captor says. "We're heading to the mess to see what kind of fancy food Lord Straik has on tap. And we're gonna eat it."
16
ADIRON
I guide Jade's chair into the mess hall, and I'm glad to see that it's empty. The a'ani tend to take their meals on a fairly rigid schedule, so it's deserted around here between meal times. That's perfect for my needs. I'm not hungry, but I keep thinking about Jade and that little falling-apart outfit she's wearing. I think about how long the Buoyant Star has been missing in deep space. If what the humans mentioned is true—that they were left behind—then I wonder at their food supplies. If it's a lie and just part of the story designed to trap us, she won't bat an eye at Straik's food supplies.
So I settle her chair in front of one of the tables, consider her, and then deactivate the cuffs.
She rubs her delicate wrists and looks over at me. "Are you sure that's wise?" She arches a brow in my direction. "Shouldn't you lock down the big bad humans?"
I just shrug. "You aren't going anywhere without your friends. And we can't exactly get to know each other with you trussed up, can we?"
Jade rubs her wrists again and shrugs. "There's nothing to tell you."
I doubt that very much. I head to the series of dispensers above the countertop and study them. There's a variety of foods of all kinds—from comfort foods like askri noodles to more exotic things, like a variety of fruits, or spicy cheeses from one of Homeworld's moons. I pretend to study all of it and turn to her, all casual. "What do you feel like eating?"